July 14, 2013

Today's Hotness: What Moon Things, Little Big League, Fridge Poetry

>> At least The Bradys had their popcorn trail... With the half-attention/limited attention span we employ on a regular basis given the various demands on our time, sometimes we paste a link in a text file to revisit later, only to completely forget any and all context for it. So we send out heartfelt thanks to whomever it was that pointed us to the Bandcamp page of What Moon Things recently, because the quintet-or-trio-we-can't-tell's new tune "Squirrel Girl" -- posted to Bandcamp late last month and embedded for your enjoyment below -- is a stunner. The groop appears to be based out of New Paltz, NY, as best we can tell, and formed just last year. But it has made good use of that short time, as between "Squirrel Girl" and "Astronaut..." the band has already written two tunes that we've returned to again and again this weekend. "Squirrel Girl" melds psych, shoegaze and post-punk styles into something dense, noisy and beautiful, creating an arresting sound that hints at influences like classic Flaming Lips and Modest Mouse. What Moon Things recently added bassist Chris Kehoe to a lineup that as best we can tell also includes guitarist Jake Harms, John (with no surname) on drums, Kyle James on synth and some person or thing called Metamorphic manning synth, bass and percussion. The presumed five-piece (it appears only three band members are present in the video linked supra for "Astronaut...") are preparing a full-length, and previously issued a digital single, "White Indian Ghost" b/w "Storm Moon," in August 2012 (available for download here). We're excited by the possibilities before this young band, and recommend them to your attention posthaste. Stream the swerving anti-anthem "Squirrel Girl" via the embed below.

>> Just when you thought we couldn't find more bands to like coming out of Phiadelphia right now, here comes Little Big League. The rising guitar-pop quartet, fronted by Michelle Zauner and including former Titus Andronicus drummer Ian Dykstra, will release via Tiny Engines next month a debut full-length called These Are Good People. The set touts dynamic indie punk tunes highlighted by neatly arranged guitars that leave plenty of room for Ms. Zauner's affecting, high alto (which works in that range that always reminds us of Kiss Me Deadly's Emily Elizabeth). These Are Good People is at its best at its most ambitious, and you can hear the band pushing itself in the record's thoughtfully constructed and produced centerpiece "Sportswriting." Its composition is patient, there is noticeably more reverb applied to the guitars, and Zauner offers her most emotional vocal of the record. These Are Good People is out Aug. 6, and it will be available on a vinyl 12" or as a digital download. Pre-orders are being taken now right here and include t-shirt or poster bundles, cheap downloads and a 20% off checkout code, according to Little Big Leagues tumblr. Stream the first three cuts from the nine-song collecton via the Bandcamp embed below. Little Big League previously issued a 7" single, "Tokyo Drift" b/w "St. John," in April 2012. Little Big League is presently on tour and will play a show in Boston at Church on July 21 before making their way back to Philly for a record release show at The Fire on the 25th.

>> Junior Elvis Washington Laidley, the chief architect of the Birmingham, England-based electropop project Fridge Poetry and drummer in noise-pop titans Johnny Foreigner, would seem to have stumbled on something of a vocal muse for the former concern in Philly punk fixture Evan Bernard. The pair met when Mr. Bernard signed on to drive Johnny Foreigner around North America last fall. The pair first collaborated on the epic, yearning ballad "I'll See" from Fridge Poetry's April Soweto Slo Mo EP that we wrote about here, and now Bernard's heart-felt singing now graces a second Fridge Poetry jam, "Like Poetry," a remix of which was recently posted for auditory consumption at Bandcamp. The "Froback Remix" of "Like Poetry" situates Bernard's characteristically nostalgic and soaring vocals within a sparkling array of tinkling piano and a crashing, crash cymbal-heavy jungle beat. It's unclear whether it will be this remix or a different version that will be included on a planned forthcoming EP from Fridge Poetry. But according to the project's Bandcamp the EP will be called Leen van Pelt and will feature additional collaborations with JoFo tour mates Playlounge, Mutes (the project of Johnny Foreigner guitar tech James Brown), and a fellow named Paul Rafferty (who is not this guy). We will, of course, bring you further bulletins as events warrant, but in the interim get set to bliss out to Fridge Poetry's latest and greatest via the embed below.